Innovative and Neophobic Profile Influence Teenagers’ Perception Towards Cake with Banana Peel: A Case of Study
15TH PANGBORN SENSORY SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM - MEETING NEW CHALLENGES IN A CHANGING WORLD (PSSS 2023):G02
Posted: 24 Aug 2023
Abstract
Whole food utilization is a way to avoid wasting materials and important sources of nutritional compounds and evaluating the perception of people in early stages is important to food education practices. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of whole bananas on teenagers’ perception over cakes and relate their profile to how they react to it. From a Brazilian high school, 132 teenagers were exposed twice to a photo of a cake. Initially, they were asked to rate how much they would accept, how healthy and how sustainable was the banana cake. Then, they were informed that it presented the whole banana (with peel), and rated again each question. A 5-point scale, anchored in “none” and “very much”, was used. Finally, they answered a 6-itens innovative and a 10-itens neophobic questions using a 7-point Likert scale. Blind and informed tests were compared by Student’s t test. Rates were transformed into positive (when rate enhanced), neutral (when rate was the same) and negative (when rate reduced) effects and were related to neophobic and innovative profiles by chi-squared test. Results showed that teenagers’ acceptance for the cake significantly reduced when they were informed that it presented banana peel, although they perceived it significantly healthier and more sustainable. Sampling was segmented on those more innovative and less neophobic (G1) and less innovative and more neophobic (G2). Individuals in G1 were statistically related to negative acceptance and neutral effect on how sustainable the cake was when they were informed the presence of banana peel, meanwhile those in G2 were related to positive effects on how healthy and how sustainable the product was. Thus, adolescents’ acceptance reduces when they are aware of the presence of banana peel, but they perceive the product as healthier and more sustainable, although segmentation is critical.
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